Substance Use and Disorders

Substance use disorders have significant and often severe consequences on the individual, his or her family and friends, the workplace, and our communities. If you are worried about your own or a friend or family member’s drug or alcohol use, we offer help – and hope.

North Range Behavioral Health offers a full range of safe, effective, and confidential services for people who need substance use disorder treatment. We are trained to help you or your loved one address the core issues that could be causing the addiction, develop healthier self-awareness and self-confidence, and learn stronger coping skills.

Please call North Range Behavioral Health at 970.347.2120 if you would like to learn more or make an appointment to discuss your or a loved one’s substance use.

Do you have a substance use disorder?

Answering yes to one or more of these simple questions could mean that you are misusing alcohol or other drugs.

Questions to Consider *

Have you ever felt you ought to cut down on your drinking or drug use?

Have people annoyed you by criticizing your drinking or drug use?

During the last year, has a friend or family member ever told you about things you said or did while you were drinking or using drugs that you could not remember?

Is drinking or drug use affecting your job, your performance in school, or your personal relationships?

Have you ever had a drink or used drugs first thing in the morning to steady your nerves or to get rid of a hangover?

* This screener can help you understand what you’re feeling or may indicate a problem, but should never be considered a substitute for talking to a professional who can assess your problems thoroughly and offer appropriate treatment options.

We can talk with you about your substance use and help you decide if you need treatment. If you feel that your life is in crisis because of substance use,
call 970.347.2120.

Concerned about your child or teenager using substances?

Kids face more challenges than ever: alcohol, drugs, gangs, bullies, and the ever-present peer pressures. Unfortunately, young people often fall into their traps. Not only can this behavior harm a growing body and brain, it can lead to failure in school, and in life.

Here are some signs that your child or teen may be using substances:

Their grades have dropped.

You see an increase in inappropriate anger, irritability, or sullenness.

They are in a trance-like state.

You smell alcohol, gasoline, or cleaning fluids.

You notice an increase in the use of room deodorizes, strong-smelling body products, mouthwash, or breath mints.

* This screener can help you understand what you’re feeling or may indicate a problem, but should never be considered a substitute for talking to a professional who can assess your problems thoroughly and offer appropriate treatment options.

If children drink before the age of 15, they are six times as likely to have alcohol problems as an adult.

Preventing underage substance use

Weld County Prevention Partners, a program of North Range Behavioral Health, is a coalition of concerned people who want to help children and teens make healthy choices. We provide information to parents, children, teens, business organizations, community leaders, educators, legislators, and media about how to prevent underage alcohol and drug use and other dangerous lifestyle choices. Learn more here.

Use, Abuse, and Addiction

An illness that does not care if you’re rich or poor, male or female, employed or unemployed, young or old, or any race or ethnicity, substance use disorder is a complicated and powerful disease. While the causes aren’t completely understood, the chance of developing a substance use disorder depends partly on genetics— biological traits passed down through families—as well as environment, psychological traits, and stress.

Using alcohol or drugs can change the brain in important, long-lasting ways, and the point at which addiction occurs is different for each person. Consistent misuse increases the urge to use and frequently disrupts all aspects of a person’s life.

Learn more about substance use and abuse:

Since substance use can interfere with judgment, one might not recognize that his or her problems are caused by drug or alcohol use.

Craving is a strong need or desire to use alcohol or drugs in spite of painful or negative consequences.

Someone addicted to alcohol or drugs may feel a strong loss of control over the urge to use, accompanied by irritability and anxiety. Out-of-control behaviors may include using the substance at work, while driving, or the inability to refuse to use it while in the company of others who do.

Abuse of substances can have its beginnings in other problems, including pain management, stress, depression, or anxiety. Long-term use of prescriptions, like pain-killers and tranquilizers, to help with pain can sometimes lead to high tolerance and eventual dependence on that substance.

Continual use of substances can lead to biological changes in the brain that result in higher tolerance and withdrawal symptoms. Tolerance is the increasing need by the body for larger doses of the substance to maintain the desired effect; withdrawal occurs when the substance is stopped, and an addicted person may suffer nausea, sweating, shakiness, and/or anxiety.

Myth – Addiction is a bad habit, the result of moral weakness and overindulgence.

Fact – Addiction can be a chronic, life-threatening condition, like any physical illness. Addiction has roots in genetic susceptibility, social circumstance, and unhealthy coping behaviors.

Myth – If an addicted person has enough willpower, he or she can stop abusing alcohol or other drugs.

Fact – Most people addicted to alcohol or other drugs cannot simply stop using them, no matter how strong their inner resolve. Most need one or more courses of structured treatment to reduce or end their dependence on alcohol and/or other drugs.

Treatment

As with most medical and behavioral health therapies, addiction treatment does not guarantee lifelong health, although many clients can stop from their first treatment attempt. Relapse, often a part of the recovery process, is always possible but treatable.

Even if a person never achieves perfect sobriety, treatment can reduce the number and length of relapses and address related problems such as poor overall health, ability to find and keep employment, and family stress. Treatment can and does strengthen our ability to cope with the problems that lead us to turn to harmful substances.

Because dependency on drugs or alcohol creates difficulties in our mental and physical health, family, and social life, our treatment approach addresses all of these areas. Our programs use several options to help our clients begin and maintain the road to recovery.